Connect

Posts Tagged ‘
Bosphorus ’

Monday

Diners in Istanbul are spoiled with options for fresh seafood. But most venues are mere caricatures of places like İsmet Baba, where traditions have been kept sacred for more than 50 years. While many other such restaurants are kitschy, İsmet is gritty and authentic. Located in Kuzguncuk, a charming neighborhood on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, it may not be the best restaurant in the city, but it’s got something most of the others have lost: old-school Istanbul charm and character.

The soft yellow light, rakı-fueled laughter and whiff of grilled fish emanating from İsmet Baba seem to pulse out over the Bosphorus, like a flashing neon sign reading “locals eat here.” Stepping inside, you can’t miss the framed panel by the door memorializing Orhan the Butcher, Mahmut the Bear, Blind Mustafa, Forty Lies Selim and other regulars who look from their pictures like they could be characters from a Turkish mafia movie. From the VIP table under the portrait of İsmet Baba, these Turkish goodfellas hold court over this simple, traditional fish restaurant as if it were their own clubhouse.

The rest of this previously featured review can be found on CulinaryBackstreets.com, here.

Archives

Quick Look

Categories

Recent Posts

CB on the Road: Join Us in Gaziantep!
1 response - Posted
02.28.15
We are very happy to announce that in May we’ll be offering a springtime edition of “Culinary Secrets of Gaziantep,” our three-day eating and hands-on cooking adventure in Turkey’s gastronomic mecca.
An ancient city not far from Turkey’s southern border, a meeting point between the Arab Middle East and Turkish Anatolia,Gaziantep over the centuries has developed a culinary culture that is ... continue

CB on the Road: The Young and Funky in Turkey’s Edremit
no responses - Posted
02.17.15
Turkey has a rich dairying tradition, beginning thousands of years ago with nomadic tribes herding goats through the Anatolian steppes. Although Turkey is full of good cheeses that breakfast staples, these cheeses do not have the range of flavors and textures that, say, the French have with their cheese cornucopia. Three young sheep farmers and cheesemakers near the Aegean coastal town ... continue

Lakerda: Istanbul’s Salty, Fishy Soul
no responses - Posted
02.10.15
The fatty torik – the Turkish name for a large, mature Atlantic bonito, similar to the little tunny – courses the straits of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles for just a short period each year in November and December. Yet the people of Istanbul eat it year-round by preserving the fish in a light brine, something it seems they have ... continue

Istanbul’s Top 5 Beaneries (Updated)
no responses - Posted
01.30.15
Istanbul’s eaters are spoiled by opportunities to eat great beans – and in the Turkish kitchen that means white beans, in particular, and if you’re lucky, the şeker fasulye type grown in Eastern Turkey’s İspir region. We’ve tried countless subtle variations on roughly the same recipe and, wiping mouth on sleeve after a bowl, declared that we could eat beans every ... continue

First Stop: Charles King’s Istanbul
no responses - Posted
01.10.15
Editor’s note: In the latest installment of our recurring feature, First Stop, we asked Charles King where he stops first for food when he heads to Istanbul. King is a professor of international affairs and government at Georgetown University and the author of Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth of Modern Istanbul and other books.
Istanbul is famously a city ... continue

İsmail Amca’s Menemen: Eggstra Special
no responses - Posted
01.07.15
Times are changing in Tarlabaşı, one of the most culturally diverse, interesting and occasionally dangerous neighborhoods of Istanbul.
The government’s billion-dollar Tarlabaşı 360 project aims to gentrify this area. Even with its seedy streets full of young ruffians and Syrian refugees, Tarlabaşı oozes with a charming ambiance like no other. Its beautiful architecture, dating back to Ottoman times, is covered in ... continue

Murat Kelle Paça: The Soup Kitchen
no responses - Posted
12.29.14
Most of Murat Kelle Paça’s clientele stumble in between 1 and 5 o’clock in the morning, after a boisterous night of drinking, concert-going and dancing. Located in the heart of Beyoğlu and surrounded by the best nightlife in Istanbul, if not all of Turkey, Murat attracts one of the most diverse crowds of any restaurant we have seen in Istanbul. ... continue

All entries filed under this archive

Fish in Istanbul: Natural Selection(s) 2 responses - Posted 07.30.12 In the evolutionary process of the Istanbul fish restaurant, there was a moment in the late 1990’s when the amphibious, shore-hugging boat restaurants crawled out of the Bosphorus and became land dwellers. Overnight, yellow Wellington boots became black loafers as seafaring grill men became restaurateurs and waiters.
Some rue the day ...continue

Istanbul Köfte Week: #1 – Meşhur Köfteci Recep Usta no responses - Posted 06.10.11
(Editor’s note: Over here at Istanbul Eats, we like to think of ourselves as köfte savants. While to the untrained eye köfte may look like nothing more than a grilled meatball, we like to discern differences in taste, texture and consistency in the different styles of this ubiquitous Turkish dish. ...continue

Istanbul’s Top 5 Lahmacun Makers – #3: Fıstık Kebap no responses - Posted 03.23.11 (Editor’s Note: A recent article about a spat between Turkey and Greek Cyprus over who owns the rights to claim lahmacun as their own got us thinking about those minced-meat covered discs of dough and how, when done right, they really are something worth fighting over. So, prompted by the Turkish-Cypriot ...continue

Best Bites of 2010: Our Take 1 response - Posted 01.03.11
(Editor's Note: Although the new year is already upon us, we had so many memorable Istanbul dining experiences in 2010 that we wanted to take one last look at the past year's culinary highlights. So, before we get to the work of further exploring Istanbul in 2011, here's our top ...continue

Emek Mantı Evi: Diabolical Dumplings 1 response - Posted 09.20.10
After a while, some Turkish food, like mantı, can become repetitive – serving after serving of the same tiny, boiled dumplings with yogurt. Deeply conservative when it comes to food, Turkish cooks and diners alike generally don’t like any fussing around with traditional recipes. So, distinguishing between a good mantı ...continue

İnciraltı: Meyhane Time Machine 1 response - Posted 08.30.10
We like to think of İnciraltı, a laid-back meyhane in the sleepy Bosphorus-side Beylerbeyi neighborhood, as a destination restaurant – not so much because of the food, but because of the destination itself.
Not that there’s anything wrong with the food here, which is reliably well made. The meze tray at ...continue

Brews With Views 4 responses - Posted 08.23.10
(Editor's Note: we first ran this roundup last summer, but we're bringing it back for those who may have not found it in our archive.)
The mojito may go the way of the grasshopper and other forgotten cocktails, but a cold beer accompanied by a panoramic view of the waters and ...continue

Fish: Mmmm…Meze! 8 responses - Posted 07.09.10
“D’oh!” we said with a wince when we spotted the Ferrari parked in front of Fish, the restaurant we were heading to for dinner. It may have been the lucky day for the valet parkers who crowded around snapping pictures with their cell phones, but for us it meant certain ...continue

Kandilli Suna’nin Yeri: Port of Call 3 responses - Posted 05.14.10
Boatspotting on the Bosphorus is a favorite pastime for those lucky enough to have windows with the right view. On any given weekend afternoon on the busy straits that divide this city, the ship and boat traffic unfolds like a caravan of the flags of the lesser-known countries of the ...continue